Pools
of Privilege

How Fair Is Water Access as Berlin Heats Up?

Potsdam, 31.08.2024

As climate change continues to drive ever-higher daily temperatures and exacerbates heat stress on communities, the availability of respite on days with high to extreme heat is becoming an ever more critical resource. Not only public swimming pools offer cooling, but also private pools for those who can afford it. But how does this unequal accessibility affect social justice within Berlin?

Is there a public swimming pool in your area?

Urban communities are particularly affected as densely built-up environments are subject to additional stresses resulting from the urban heat island effect. This phenomenon occurs when cities experience significantly higher temperatures than their surrounding rural areas due to human activities and the concentration of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure that absorb and retain heat.

Fortunately, the natural bodies of water in Berlin, including sections of the major rivers Dahme, Spree, and Havel, as well as several smaller streams and a total of forty-two lakes, offering the city a natural form of relief from the sweltering urban heat.

Not content with the waters provided by nature, the city has also built a vast array of artificial pools, bringing refreshment and relief from the summer heat.

Overview of all public swimming pools and accessible lakes in Berlin

Some locations are accessible to the public but charge a fee for usage and are only available during certain hours and seasons. In contrast, others are completely publicly accessible at any time of day or year and are free of charge, though swimming in lakes is typically limited to the summer months due to cold temperatures in winter.

The category of public swimming pools includes those operated by the ‘Berliner Bäderbetriebe’, a fully city-owned entity, as well as smaller locations independently operated but listed as public amenities by the city of Berlin.

Cooling Off in a Warming World

While Berlin experienced an average of 34 heat days per year (identified by climate scientists as days with temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius) between 1961 and 1990, this figure rose to 49 days between 1991 and 2020, and 69 heat days in 2023.

The number of heat days per year have more than doubled in Berlin since 1961.

With increasing temperatures and a growing number of days with extreme heat per year, ill effects on the health and wellbeing on citizens of Berlin become more pronounced. Demographic trends of an ageing population simultaneously expand the group of people most vulnerable to the effects of increased heat. These effects include heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and sunburn, which can lead to serious health complications. Additionally, prolonged exposure to high temperatures can exacerbate existing health conditions.

Access to pools, lakes and rivers that can serve as a mitigating factor is becoming a resource of increasing value and importance to the city’s population as heat days increase and the population becomes more vulnerable over time. But how fair is the access distributed?

Equity of Access

Our health - and ultimately our life expectancy - is significantly impacted by factors such as place of residence, social status, and environmental pollution. In 2021/2022, the state of Berlin updated its ‘Atlas of Environmental Equity’ (Umweltgerechtigkeitsatlas). The focus is on five key indicators of environmental stress: air pollution, noise pollution, proximity to green space, heat stress, and social status index. These factors are assessed across the 542 planning areas within Berlin. The index ranges from 1 to 7, with index 7 indicating the highest level of environmental stress and social disadvantage, and index 1 representing the areas with the least stress and disadvantage.

This map shows the social disadvantage in Berlin

The data collection shows that the area within the S-Bahn ring exhibits the highest density of social disadvantage planning areas. However, some areas of concern are also evident in the outer districts. People with a low social status index are also particularly often affected by additional negative environmental stressors. They live on major traffic routes in densely populated neighbourhoods with limited access to green and recreational areas.

In contrast, Pankow, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, and Steglitz-Zehlendorf are among the districts that rank better both in terms of the social status index and the prosperity ranking (income, unemployment rate, property prices). However, the index does not take cooling opportunities into account.

A Quantitative Assessment of Backyard Pools in Steglitz-Zehlendorf

Private pools are becoming increasingly popular and are considered a symbol of luxury for many property owners. To determine how many private pools are located within residential properties in the city’s wealthiest district, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, we analysed high resolution satellite images.

Locations of private backyard pools and properties with private access to lakes within Steglitz-Zehlendorf

Steglitz-Zehlendorf, with its low density and high income, is conducive to a high number of private pools.

We were able to determine an overall number of around 1200 private pools and sites with direct private access to lakes. These pools are available only where property owners are able to spend comparatively large sums of money on an asset depreciating over time that is costly to maintain and requires ample physical space to install. Economies of scale suggest that the shared use of pools and similar facilities would enable a much higher effectiveness of resources allocated, as well as a more sustainable use of water.

In fact, the district, in addition to its high rate of private pools, also boasts a high occurrence of natural waters and public pools compared to the city average. These factors converge to make Steglitz-Zehlendorf a relatively overserved district in terms of access to bathing areas, while a large proportion of these areas are closed off from the general public and serve only individual households with the means to afford them.

Pool from birds-eye view

Beyond Privilege

By comparing the distribution of pools accessible to the public (as well as those operated by and beneficial only to private households) with the overall distribution of wealth throughout Berlin, we can see a lack of equity in access to cooling resources. Access to bodies of water is evolving from being merely a public luxury to becoming a crucial resource for public health and the overall well-being of Berlin’s population. Public swimming pools are increasingly recognized not just as a luxury, but as an essential asset in a warming Berlin.

Policy makers will need to consider accessible pools and lakes as a resource.

To mitigate the effects of rising temperatures on individuals equitably, policymakers need to consider not only the increasing importance of accessible pools and lakes but also other strategies to protect residents from heat. This includes implementing measures such as urban greening initiatives, renovations to improve building insulation, and the creation of air-conditioned refuges in public buildings. Additionally, comprehensive heat action plans should be developed to address and manage heat waves effectively. The responsibility of the city of Berlin extends to ensuring that all residents have access to these resources and protections.

This project was developed as part of the seminar Mapping Cities - Making Cities under the direction of Prof. Dr. Marian Dörk and Hendrik Lehmann in the summer semester 2024 at University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Credits

Special thanks to Vertical 52 und Climate Analytics for provisioning the data and answering all upcoming questions (and to Amir for making to pool detection happening)!

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Carla BurggrafDesign & Implementation
Fabian DietrichWriting & Editing
Marc BuynyWriting & Editing
Sophie SeifertData Visualization